Top Story of the Week Do Investors Care About Corporate Sustainability?We hear this from corporate managers…investors don’t ask about our sustainability efforts… No, they may not ask about “sustainability,” but they do ask about a lot of corporate strategies and actions related to climate change (and disclosure), reduced waste streams, increasing use of renewable energy, wastewater and water consumption, supply chain issues, and more. “Sustainability” or “ESG factors” may not be the right terminology to use. Anyway, check out the top story – every three years Accenture and United Nations link up to survey 1,000 CEOs and interview dozens on the questions such as “do you think your share price currently includes any value directly related to sustainability?” Answers may surprise you – or not. The final results will be unveiled this September at the UN Global Compact leadership meetings in New York City. It’s clear: more linkage is necessary between various ESG performance factors, and corporate sustainability efforts…and the C-suite leadership. Is it mis-match on terminology, perhaps? Engaging Investors in Sustainability: a Silver Bullet or a Thankless Task?
(Thursday - August 15, 2013)
Source: Guardian.co.uk - Once every three years, Accenture joins forces with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) to conduct the most comprehensive global study in existence on corporate views on sustainability. In addition to in-depth interviews... Sustainability in Focus What does 'the end of the suburbs' mean for sustainability?
(Friday - August 16, 2013)
Source: Guardian.co.uk - Have we reached "peak suburbs"? In her new book, The End of the Suburbs, Fortune magazine editor Leigh Gallagher argues that powerful social, economic, environmental and demographic forces are converging to end a half-century of... Understanding sustainability East and West
(Friday - August 16, 2013) Associated Profiles : Carbon Disclosure Project
Source: Eco-business - So, sustainable development in Asia is about investment, infrastructure, and industrialization to create jobs and growth, which will give the poor a way out of poverty. It is also about creating community services... 10 steps for making sustainable investments
(Friday - August 16, 2013) Associated Profiles : ICCR
Source: GreenBiz - Of all the activists at large in the world today, sustainable investors must be among the most patient. For decades members of sustainable investment organizations in the U.S. and abroad have incorporated... Nike, UPS, Starbucks Shareholders Demand GHG Cuts, Sustainability Reporting
(Friday - August 16, 2013) Associated Profiles : California State Teachers’ Retirement System
Source: Environmental Leader - Investors filed 110 shareholder resolutions this proxy season related to sustainability issues and climate change with 94 US companies, according to business nonprofit Ceres, which helped coordinate the... The benefits of tying executive compensation to sustainability
(Friday - August 16, 2013)
Source: GreenBiz - Aligning incentives – this is why executive compensation is linked to financial performance. Corporate America wants to promote financial performance, so it compensates its executives directly for it. With the increasing risk... The case for supply chain sustainability investments
(Thursday - August 15, 2013)
Source: Reuters - Recently members of NativeEnergy’s leadership team were in Berkeley, CA to convene a gathering of thought leaders from various organizations around a broad range of sustainability topics. The event was a working session attended... Why Marketers Ignore Sustainability — but Shouldn’t
(Thursday - August 15, 2013)
Source: Environmental Leader - A lack of interest from consumers, a presumed high risk factor and a perception that sustainability is boring, expensive or too complicated are some of the reasons given by marketing professionals for failing to promote a green... Do people actually act on sustainability research reports?
(Monday - August 12, 2013)
Source: GreenBiz - I always wonder how industry sustainability research reports influence company activities. Do sustainability professionals peruse the latest reports, then throw them to the side? Do they spur internal conversations, progress the... ESG Issues & Players Does ESG investing really pay?
(Thursday - August 15, 2013)
Source: Pension Funds Online - Research from Allianz's RCM is the latest of several studies to suggest that incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into equity investment can boost a pension fund's returns. Pension Funds Insider... Campbell Soup Sued Over Heart Association Endorsements
(Thursday - August 15, 2013)
Source: Bloomberg - Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) and the American Heart Association were sued by a consumer who claimed the AHA fraudulently certifies the company’s products as healthy. The association labels more than 30 of Campbell’s Healthy Request... Investors Achieve Strong Results on Climate Change, Supply Chains, Water Risks During 2013 Proxy Season
(Monday - August 12, 2013)
Source: CSRWire - Investors achieved noteworthy victories during this year’s shareholder proxy season, with a near record 110 shareholder resolutions filed with 94 U.S. companies on corporate sustainability challenges such as climate change... 10 years after record blackout, U.S. electrical grid faces new and emerging threats
(Monday - August 12, 2013)
Source: Star-Tribune - The U.S. electrical grid is better managed and more flexible a decade after its largest blackout but remains vulnerable to increasingly extreme weather, cyber security threats, and stress caused by shifts in where and how power is... Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds Dutch funds respond to SRI embarrassment
(Friday - August 16, 2013) Associated Profiles : PGGM – Asset Managers for Pension Funds
Source: Big News Network - Dutch pension funds have been shamed into smartening up their investment decisions after a current affairs TV programin the Netherlands revealed that two of the largest funds were investing in US firms that... DiNapoli seeks corporate accountability
(Friday - August 16, 2013) Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management
Source: Troy Record - New York’s comptroller, who oversees the state’s $160 billion pension fund, says he will keep fighting to use the power of massive investments to hold corporate executives accountable for... Will The Charges Against JPMorgan's Former Traders Help Reform Wall Street?
(Friday - August 16, 2013)
Source: Forbes - The federal government charged two former JPMorgan Chase JPM -1.59% employees, Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, for their involvement in a multi-billion dollar loss at the bank last year. Prosecutors accused the two men of... Watching the Watchers Union of Concerned Scientists
Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Established: 1969
ESG/Sustainability Focus: Yes, a very strong focus on environmental, social, and sustainability issues.
KEY PARTNERS
Scientists from the UCS network, Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology OVERVIEW/MISSION
The Union of Concerned Scientists describes itself as “a non-profit partnership of scientists and citizens combining rigorous scientific analysis, innovative policy development, and effective citizen advocacy to achieve practical environmental solutions.” NEWS SWEEPS A Nuclear Submariner Challenges a Pro-Nuclear Film
(Saturday - August 17, 2013) Associated Profiles : Union of Concerned Scientists
- The New York Times The Opinion Pages – He’s not an expert on nuclear power; outside of climate science ... AP1000 nuke plant to prove they really are passively safe. Small demo plants often reveal design errors that can...
[more] Volunteers Flock to Water Mission International to Help Install 100kW Solar System
(Saturday - August 17, 2013) Associated Profiles : Union of Concerned Scientists
- blog.cleanenergy.org - Work has begun on one of the largest solar arrays in South Carolina to power Water Mission International ... primarily in Central America. Today, a global staff of over 150 engineers, technicians... Changes in store as state warms
(Saturday - August 17, 2013) Associated Profiles : Union of Concerned Scientists
- Bucyrus Telegraph Forum - Only water plants when needed, and do it during the coolest part of the day; early morning is best. To use the EPA’s carbon footprint ... said the warming climate likely will lead to extended dry... | G&A Announces...
 G&A Institute Sustainability Update™
Informative, insightful, thought provoking... The new blog from the Governance & Accountability Institute focusing on the sustainable world evolving daily before our eyes. Read it, absorb it, question it and challenge it. G&A's Sustainability Update™ – insights and perspectives for your sustainable Journey
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Measuring, managing and reporting on the progress of the organization's Sustainability Journey – ensuring that ESG market players, corporate reputation influencers, shareholders and stakeholders understand the strategies, goals, program elements of the journey and accomplishments and recognitions earned. Learn more About G&A's Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Reporting _______________________________ Governance & Accountability Institute Research Reports Learn more @ G&A! _______________________________ Corporate ESG Performance Factors & SustainabilityHQ Corporate ESG Performance Factors are important to financial analysts, asset owners and managers, and many stakeholders. The ESG framework or approach considers environmental issues and impacts, the company’s positioning and actions on social/societal issues, and important aspects of corporate governance. ESG key performance indicators are considered by investors as proxies for effective governance and management. Increasing numbers of of independent research and financial analysis firms monitor and measure these and advisie investors. The Sustainability HQ™ platform is an important profiling and monitoring resource for the G&A team, and for our clients and subscribers. ESG market players and corporate reputation influencers are profiled and monitored by G&A Institute. In these Highlights we provide some results of our continuous global scanning for ESG, sustainability and corporate responsibility news.. The Associated Profiles indicated are in our platforms. For more information, please email us at info@sustainabilityhq.com
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